CHAPTER 3

Because of Bluejam's kick, Kreegan fell, hit his head, and passed out. He must be dreaming right now because he was walking on water in the middle of an ocean. To test whether he was above the water, Kreegan stretched out his hand towards the water and could reach into the water. Just then, a great beam of light appeared in front of him and said:

"Child, do you want power?"

Kreegan backed away nervously, but there was nowhere for him to hide.

"Don't be afraid. I will not hurt you, child. Now answer me, do you want the power to avenge your family? Do you want to punish the wicked pirates?"

"Yes, I want to be powerful so I can catch pirates."

"I'll give you the wisdom of a grown man for a little while so that you can clearly grasp what I'm going to say right now."

It was as if a great fog had lifted from Kreegan's mind, and his thoughts were no longer confused, and his attention was not constantly bouncing from place to place. He felt focused and calm.

"Child, I can't give you powers directly because your soul that belongs to this universe will reject the power that I give. But if we combine your soul with a soul from another universe, I can bestow power upon you."

"Can I ask you some questions?"

"You may."

"Who or what are you?"

"I'm an extension of Akashic Records."

"What is that?"

"Akashic Records are where almost every event and knowledge in almost every universe is recorded."

"If I merge with someone else, won't I be dead?"

"Negative. When two souls are combined, it continues its existence in the new soul formed in both souls, but since the conciseness of the two souls cannot exist at the same time, a new conciseness combination of the two is formed."

"Doesn't that mean I won't be me anymore?"

"Negative. I cannot combine two incompatible souls. You are a person who seeks justice, so I can't combine you with a clashing personality. I can only combine you with someone seeking justice too. The compatibility of the two souls needs to be the lowest 98%. This means, in its essence, you will be combining with someone almost your copy from a different universe. This way, I can bestow his soul with power, and your soul would grant access."

Kreegan thought for a bit and said:

"I accept."

"Consent is confirmed. Starting the search for a compatible soul..."

"Soul is found. Compatibility is 100%. Contact with the soul initiated."

........................

Earth 2018

Darius lost his parents when he was only eight years old. They have been killed in a home invasion. He lived in a foster home until now. His foster home was neither too good nor too bad. He didn't get abused or molested but didn't get love, either. To his foster parents, he was a paycheck. They kept Darius on a fine line between hunger and satiety and only bought one pair of clothes a year. Darius had to mature at a very young age. He quickly learned that people do nothing for free and learned many bitter lessons.

So, when Darius was just 12, he had to work as a dishwasher in the kitchen of a restaurant so that he could earn enough money to fill his stomach and meet his needs. Within six years, he was promoted to line cook in the kitchen, but his dream was not in the kitchens but in the police academy. His dream was to become a cop and protect people from criminals.

Today Darius' life in the kitchen was coming to an end, and now that he was 18, he could apply to the police academy. He took the necessary papers and set off for the subway to go to the academy. The subway was full, as usual. He had to travel 40 minutes from where he lived to the police academy, and he was prepared for it, bringing the latest issue of his favorite manga magazine with him. Luffy and Katakuri's fight was almost over in the last issue he read, and he had been impatiently waiting for this issue. Manga was his only entertainment in this dark and unfortunate life, and he was able to overcome many of his bad moments thanks to the wonder and happiness he felt while reading them.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

While he was pulling his book, the guy sitting next to him got up and left the metro car in a hurry, but he forgot his backpack. Seeing this, Darius picked it up and ran after him. The second he left the car, its doors closed, and the metro train started to move. Darius run after the man,

"Excuse me, sir."

"Excuse me."

He grabbed his shoulder and said.

"Excuse me, sir. You forgot your backpack on the train."

His eyes almost popped out of his head as the man turned and saw his bag. With great fear and haste, he made Darius let go of his shoulder and began to run away at full speed. At this moment, it was as if a knife had been stabbed into Darius' stomach. When one grows up in the system and is constantly exposed to bitter lessons by people, it is almost as if one develops a spider sense for bad events.

Fearing, he unzipped the backpack a little, and there was a watch attached to the brown blocks and only 2 minutes on it. It was a bomb. For a moment, he felt like throwing the bag on the ground and running away, and at that moment, he noticed a boy who was going down the stairs with his family. Without hesitation, he grasped the bag, which was about to fall from his hand, and immediately started running towards the train tunnel. Someone tried to stop him from landing on the train line, but he punched the man and shouted.

"There's a bomb in the bag. Get out of my way!!!"

People started to scream and run. At that time, one thing was running through Darius' mind as he ran through the tunnel.

"What the hell am I doing? I'm going to die."

In the next second, everything turned black.

..................

"Connection initiated."

Blinding white light appeared in the darkness, and something called Akashic Records told me I could live in a different world because I was compatible with someone else. It was like the ones in the light novels.

"What kind of world is it, and why am I compatible?"

"From your memories, I can see you have familiarity with this world. It is called One Piece world, and you are compatible because you seek justice."

Darius was so happy he was hoping this was not a dream, and for a second, he even forgot he was dead, but he asked something he was most curious about.

"Why would you bestow powers on us? What is in it for you?"

"Akashic Record is a nigh-omnipotent being, but there are some things I can't do. I can't be creative and can't enter a world myself. I need someone else to gather the knowledge for me. I have all the knowledge in almost all the universes, but I can't create new applications for my existing knowledge. Because creativity comes from the soul, and I don't have a soul. You could say I m a divine computer program. I have a purpose: to collect all the knowledge I can find. For that, I bestow power upon people with indomitable will like you, and at the end of your life, I collect that knowledge."

"What if I can't create any new knowledge for you."

"It wouldn't be the first time, and I can expect to catch a fish every time I release the hook."

"Compared to the eons of my existence, your entire life would be like a few breaths to me. So, I would find someone else."

"Then can I choose what kind of power I'm going to get?"

"You cannot. I will bestow a power compatible for two aspects of your new conciseness. You are good with analytic thinking, so you would be a good magus, but the other side of you has great talent with the sword. So, a magic swordsman system is going to be your power. You will be a Sword Saint."

"Do you accept?"

"I'm going to live a second life in one piece world. Of course, I do."

"Consent is confirmed. Power bestowal is initiated."

After a bright light, the voice continued.

"Combination of souls is initiated..."

"Combination is successful."